Really it was our heart and desire for all of you who wanted to go, to be able to go. Unfortunately, it was really circumstances beyond our control. We weren’t able to deal with the airlines in such a way that they wouldn’t cancel. We still don’t know all the details of why. But let’s not be disappointed. Let’s think that God has a plan, as He always does -- an alternative plan for all of us

And I think, as we know from the Divine Principle, that God always provides an alternative for any difficulties that we encounter in the Providence. Amen?

As the song said, just a moment ago, "Dawn, Golden Dawn." It’s just the dawn of the Providence. And even though this is far from Father’s dawn, dawn comes at different times all around the world. What’s dawn here in New York, in Japan is perhaps nighttime. In England, it’s afternoon. In Israel, it’s late afternoon.

Dawn comes at different times for all of us as well. Let’s have hope in our hearts and minds and during our daily activity, that we can change our lives. We can influence our children, and be the ones to stand as an example for this world. Especially at this time of year as we approach the new year, and as we consider the eternal hope that our True Parents bring to this world, let’s really connect to that spirit of our True Parents -- that spirit of never-dying hope, of eternal commitment to God’s heart and God’s way. That’s the spirit of this time of year. So please connect with it as we proceed with this sermon.

I wanted to show a video clip. How many of you saw Michael Jenkins’ video on Familyfed.org? Very few. I’d like to show you a little bit of it, to share with you some of the spirit of the providence in the First Israel. Please enjoy. This was presented at the Hoon Dok Hae in Jerusalem just a couple of days ago. Please enjoy the video of Rev. Jenkins as he talks to the members there, and get the spirit of what’s going on in Israel.

Rev. Michael Jenkins: "Don’t get critical. Don’t struggle like that. Just focus on loving -- loving the people. We’ve got to get the victory now. I see it forming right now, because we’re coming to the Crucifixion. We have to realize: Why did Jesus return to Jerusalem? He entered Jerusalem with the triumphal entry. We’ve entered in the same way.

"Father said two people will die in this providence, upon our foundation, if we do not really accomplish the love that’s necessary. Therefore I willingly offer my life as the first one. I will stand on the cross, and I will not die. Why? Because you are going to love Israel, right? You are going to love the Jews. You are going to protect me? (Yes!)

"Is there someone who will die beside me? And Dr. Yang? Dr. Yang and I are one. Therefore I proclaim that we represent Jesus. We will not die. Because I’m asking you on this Thursday morning, on this providential day before all of history, heaven and earth, we must overcome the Crucifixion. Right? That’s what we are here to do. Therefore the Crucifixion must be repeated. The moment of that same intensity must be repeated. I see it forming and shaping, before God and heaven and earth.

"I felt tribulation in my soul about this moment approaching. And I don’t know what the outcome may be. But I know that if you really truly believe in Jesus, if you really believe in True Parents, then we can overcome this moment. Don’t be like Peter. Don’t doubt at the last moment, when things may seem to be falling apart. Don’t turn back. Don’t have hesitation in your heart. This is the time to pour out your love, and stand firm in our struggles, and cry out to the world.

"When you call the American family -- when you report back home -- don’t just tell them, things are going well. Don’t just tell them things are alright. Tell them they’ve got to support this providence! They must take every penny, every ounce of money that they have, and POUR it into Israel right now. Because right now the financial foundation has been pulled away from us. [Reportedly, midway through the mobilization, the budget was cut in half.] We are standing with no foundation. We are absolutely in the moment where everything is unstable and in turmoil.

"However, we serve a living God. And it was my God and your God that stood before the Powers of Darkness through all the history of the Providence in the Bible. It was our God that delivered Daniel from the Lion’s Den. It was our God that delivered Moses out of the clutches of the Pharaoh's evil, murderous hands, to cross the Red Sea. Will not our God lead us, the way He led Joshua, into Canaan? Will not our God lead us beyond the Crucifixion, into the land of resurrection? We will not die, if we come together with this heart. Amen?

"Therefore a few conditions must be made. You must become a power of love, like Israel has never seen. Therefore tonight at our banquet, I don’t want you to bring guests that have come before. Don’t try to repeat your guests. If your guest came before, they should not come tonight. We have no money to pay for the banquet. We have no money to pay for anything. But I want you to understand though: We will find the money. But I don’t want to waste the money by bringing people who are already with us. People who are already inspired and they’re coming for another banquet, just love them one more time. Take them to their home and love them in their home. Go to their home and bring gifts and candy and everything to celebrate Hannukah in their home. Celebrate the end of Ramadan in their home. Amen?

"Therefore we don’t need to bring everybody to the banquet. This is not the time to bring everybody. That’s Monday. Monday bring everybody. But right now we need to understand we are right at this crossroads. I can see it shaping right before me, the vision of God. It’s inevitable. How can we overcome the Crucifixion? Are we play acting? Are we setting up jumbotrons and stages? Or do we have the internal condition that will allow that jumbotron to convey the victory of heaven and earth?

"We have to be more serious as blessed couples. If you are on the Peace Task Force, you have gone through many tribulations. The clergy that are here, Bishop Cotten, wept deeply in her prayers, "Why would God ask us take down the cross?" Or even if this was God at all? But she overcame through DEEP prayer, and anguish. That’s why she knows the living God is here. Jesus guided her here. She knows True Parents are anointed by Jesus. Otherwise her spirit wouldn’t allow her to stay here.

"We have to be more serious. But how do you become more serious? Not by being more tense, okay? And not by being more worried. Don’t be worried. But by being more loving, more sincere. More careful to not get upset or angry. Be careful. Don’t be upset with your driver because they got lost. Who are you? You are doing God’s will. You have nothing to complain about -- Doesn’t God guide your path? As long as you give it to God with gratitude, God will guide your path.

"If you try and MAKE it work, by being tense, and pushing everybody around, with a map, or struggling about an appointment or time, you’ve failed. Not the driver. Not the person who got lost. You. You failed in your heart. That’s your heart.

"That’s what I saw in True Parents. I went to over 130 cities with Mother and Father. And one thing I saw -- there was no circumstance that could throw them. And there were many breakdowns. One time we were -- I’ll never forget, it was in Rhode Island, where in five minutes, Mother was to be onstage. Mother is in the Waiting Room ready to go on, and the whole banner and the whole piped drape, and this whole thing just collapsed! Fortunately Mother’s back stage area didn’t fall down. But the whole stage fell down, Peter Kim, the microphone, everything. Then I saw: Mother never got tense. Never got shaken by the external environment. When things got heavy, Mother got more sincere. She wouldn’t get light, but she’d get more sincere and more loving. More careful to love. Alright?

"We’ve got to win the rabbis. We have to understand, we have to win the rabbis. We’ve got to win at least one. It only takes one. We only need one to stand on the stage with us. Right now, that is a big question. What rabbi will stand before human history on the day the Crucifixion is to occur, and reverse it with us? Just by standing on the stage, knowing all the pressure that is going on, that will reverse it. That will reverse it with the right heart.

"That will change it -- Now!

"I don’t know why that came out so strong this morning. But I think it’s because you’re ready to receive it. Alright? Amen.

[End of video clip.]

Thank you. Let’s give a round applause. I think you can see it’s a full-fledged campaign in Israel. There are hundreds of members there from all over the world. And Rev. Jenkins is quite serious about making it successful.

He made one very important point when he talked about the Crucifixion of Jesus: That they’re in Israel, where the Crucifixion occurred. Father is seeking to connect, as you know, the First, Second, and Third Israels. We’ve heard Rev. Kim emphasize the important role of America as the Second Israel, to bring together the First and Third Israels. We’ve heard all these details about God’s Providence.

But what is Father’s plan to bring peace to this world? Peace to the Middle East? That’s what is unfolding right now. That’s what’s going on in Israel now. The incredible effort to overcome the Crucifixion of Jesus. To help the world to understand that Jesus did not come to die on a cross. That’s what this is about. That’s what we are trying to do: To focus the world’s attention on our True Parents -- in Israel, where Jesus walked and lived his life. To proclaim to the world: There’s more to God’s Providence than salvation through the cross.

How can we help Christianity comprehend the fact that Jesus didn’t come to die? How can we do that? That’s what’s going on in Israel.

I’d like to talk a little bit now about what True Parents have been doing. You saw the report on the Internet about the creation of candles that were sent to Israel. How many of you saw that? So I’d like to invite Jeannie Carroll up right now and let’s go to the first slide.

"The Messiah Has Come:" I think as this is Christmas, this is a good title for this sermon. Before we begin the Hoon Dok Hae, I'd like to share a small testimony from my own life that helped connect my heart with the heart of Jesus, and through him, the Messiah, our True Parents.

About 15 years ago, I was the district leader of Brooklyn. Rev. Joong Hyun Pak was the leader at that time. I had asked him to give a name to my son who was just born. It was July 6, 1988. He was considering what kind of name to give. Then he gave a sermon about Andrew, the first disciple of Jesus. He said that Andrew was a very simple disciple. He was the first one, and he was the one who witnessed to his brother, Peter. In a very simple way, he went to Peter and said, "Brother, I met the Messiah." That’s how Peter came to meet Jesus.

Not only that, but Andrew was the one who brought the Greeks to Jesus. He was also the one who brought the young boy who was hungry to Jesus, and asked Jesus, "Can we share the meal with him?" And that was the beginning of the miracle of the "Loaves and the Fishes."

So he gave the name "Andrew" to my son.

This name became a constant testimony to me, that simple faith is very important. It is especially important for us, at this time. I think about that often, when I think about Rev. Pak and remember the good things about him. I remember that great sermon about Andrew, and the lesson that we can all learn from that. The importance of simple faith.

Rev. Ang is another one who teaches the importance and value of simple faith. How many of you took his 40-day workshop? Not so many. But I think those of you who took it, know clearly that he is a man of very deep, but simple, faith. One of the things he said is, we have to learn, believe, and practice the "Divine Principle."

That’s always very important, but especially important for us right now: To practice simple faith by BELIEVING what we hear. And by going forward, based on what we've learned from the Divine Principle. If we keep doing what we’ve always been doing, we’re going to keep getting the results that we’ve been getting. But if we CHANGE what we do, we will change our result. It’s very simple.

But how many of us practice that way of life? I’m sure that there are some of you out there who do, and my hat is off to you. I respect those people so much, that can adjust their life. Shift gears, and change with the providence. According to any great teaching, the key is, we have to be willing and able to adjust and make changes. That’s what simple faith is about. That’s what can give us the power to commit ourselves to change.

Let's go to the slides. Here in this slide we see True Parents in Hawaii. I believe that’s Mrs. Won Ju McDevitt. She’s ever-present, always doing her job for True Parents, every morning. There she is reading the Hoon Dok Hae in Hawaii.

I made some selections this morning from the August 15 speech that I’d like to comment on. Mrs. Jeannie Carroll, principal of New Hope Academy, will read some of these words.

So what are we seeking for? What is simple faith for the New Jerusalem Community? Rev. Kim shared his vision with all of us. Rev. Kim is now going around to everyone’s home to connect us to that vision.

You know, I've seen Rev. Kim just about every day since he’s arrived here, from June until now. Probably most of you know he was in a car accident a while ago, when he was in New York. He’s not in the best of health. Yet every day I see him pushing himself beyond his limits. I’m so moved by that. I’ve never worked harder than I do with Rev. Kim. I find myself saying on some days, "I’ve never worked like this before!"

When he came here, he said, "I’m going to take away 30% of what you do, because much of what you do is not the job of a vice regional director." A few weeks later I said to him, "You know, you said you were going to take away 30% of what I do, but I’m working harder than I was before!" And he said, "Yes, and you’re going to work even harder still!"

But the thing of it is, he really gives his life. I can see the good and bad of doing that. When you work with someone every day, you see that. But he’s giving his life energy for this community, and for True Parents. It’s a great effort he’s making. I really have to testify to him, to the heart he has for True Parents. As a person, he’s learning. He’s adjusting.

Please remember: It’s still dawn out there. As the words say in the Hoon Dok Hae here, "Now that you know this, if you have lived a life based merely on vague concepts until now…" In other words, from NOW you are responsible, from this moment this morning. Don’t get discouraged. Have hope. Make a new start. But "you must change and live a life that substantially embodies these ideas."

So what are the ideas being referred to?

Let's refer to the vision of the New Jerusalem Community. It embodies many of the ideas of our True Parents. Let's look at the team system, for instance.

Why do we talk about building a team system? Because we need good communication. I know it’s not easy out there for any of us. But we can work it out, if we work together. We don’t have to have one team leader taking all responsibility. We can have several. There are many ideas of how we can work together. But the important thing at this time IS to work together and to build this community.

Everybody has important things going on. Families are very important. Our work is very important. But in order for us to restore this world, we have to do more than that. I don’t know about you, but my battery is fully charged!

"We must understand that an owner of the peaceful universal homeland, Cheon Il Guk, is someone who establishes a new standard that enables people and nations around the world to transcend their current ways of thinking that have been based on their traditional philosophies and concepts. The owner of the peaceful universal homeland, is someone who progresses to a new higher dimension."

"Through such a lifestyle, you can unite heaven, the spiritual world and the physical world. The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and in the spiritual world can only be realized only if we reach beyond our individual lives and live for the nation."

To repeat Father's words: "The owner of the peaceful universal homeland, is someone who progresses to a new higher dimension." What is that higher dimension?

Here in the slides we see True Parents last week. They suddenly left Korea, and traveled to Hawaii. Here they are praying at the Pledge Service at Hoon Dok Hae on Dec. 14. That was last Sunday. True Parents offered a special prayer at that time for the upcoming rally in Israel on Dec. 22.

So what is that higher dimension? Let's refer again to Father's words,

True Parents are building the palace for God in Chung Pyung. Many of you have seen the beginnings of it. There’s many comments about this huge investment going on in Korea. And surrounding that palace will be many other buildings. Already the seminary is completed. It was completed, and opened just a few weeks ago in Korea. True Parents dedicated the seminary, just down the hill from the palace. They’re building a huge community surrounding Chung Pyung. All kinds of things -- including the hospital that was opened while many of us were there for True Parents' Blessing in February of this year.

True Parents are doing so many things for the sake of this world. So we need to be the ones who can travel freely between the spiritual world and physical world. We need to assist True Parents with all these activities. That’s how we can move to that higher dimension. We need some vision in our minds and in our hearts to carry with us, that will give us the strength to overcome the burden of our daily lives. Amen?

And we need encouragement to be able to do this -- to break out of the box that we’re in. To seek a new realm, and then live in that new realm. When you hear Rev. Jenkins speak as we did earlier, he must be in a new realm. He must be in a different place. Each one of us needs to create the circumstances in this community for that to happen.

Then we can have the power in our hearts, in our daily life, to change our lives. If we do that, we can change New Jersey. We can bring results here. That’s what is asked of us by True Parents, and by this providence.

Important as it is, for us, for our leadership, and for our brothers and sisters who went to Israel, there’s a still greater purpose to all of this than going to Israel, and seeing the places where Jesus walked, and experiencing the heart of Jesus. There’s a greater purpose. That purpose is to restore the family -- your family, my family -- to restore our families, which are the foundation of a peaceful world.

It’s not God’s job. It’s our job to do this. It is "my" job.

That is an incredible ideal that True Parents have revealed to us. We need, I believe, to remind ourselves of these things. It is through these ideas that we can become people who can build, and live in Cheon Il Guk.

So, any day is a good day to make a new beginning. Any minute is a good minute to make a new beginning. Amen?

So if you’re out there, thinking bad thoughts, just put them aside for a while -- permanently if you are able. I don’t think that’s easy for any of us, in this world. But we can begin anew, anytime, any day. Let’s make effort to do that every day. Let’s find time, each day, to make a new beginning. Even if it’s just five minutes. Devote five minutes each day to our community -- to think about what we are doing here. Just give that much. We may find we'll change, our community will be changed by us.

Let’s try our best to make New Jerusalem a place where True Parents will want to come. Like they do in Chicago. For several years, True Parents came to Chicago for their True Family Values Banquet, which they hold every year in December. Rev. Kim has now initiated our annual Ambassador for Peace Banquet every December. This year, because of the snow, we postponed it to Jan. 16. But that should be a great event, an annual event. In this way, we’re setting up traditions that we can welcome people to -- traditions on which we can build the tradition of our True Parents.

That’s one place to start. This year it will be Jan. 16, so I want to encourage you to support that event by calling your guests, those of you who have guests. Confirm their attendance at the event. Because right now the event is filled. We can’t fit any more people in the room, according to the reports that we’ve received. So please confirm the guests, and let us know. Let Rev. Sato know, let Mrs. Igarashi know. Then we can make plans quickly to bring new people, new guests, to fill the room. We can have a great event, and make it an annual occasion.

It’s not only for our guests, but for all of us to enjoy at the end of the year. And eventually, hopefully we can bring True Parents, or the True Children. Father once said that, "When you go to home church, your utmost desire, hope and prayer should be for True Parents to visit your home church and stay overnight at your home." (June 20, 1982) This banquet is the extension and fulfillment of that dream: to make an offering that our True Parents can directly respond to. They can come here to New Jerusalem, and we can have a wonderful event here in New Jerusalem.

Amen! Father said he knew these ideas when he was 25! The same things. His sermons haven’t changed. That’s an incredible maturity -- at 25 years of age this man could embody all these ideas. So let’s believe it when he says, "If from this moment you resolve with deep conviction to renew your family in accordance with the direction of God’s will, then all will go well…" -- for all of us in New Jerusalem. Amen.

Let us pray.

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